


Lessons

by swiftway



Category: Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: Business, F/M, Family, Kids, Kindergarten, London, parent, teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-06-28 23:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15717072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftway/pseuds/swiftway
Summary: At 24 years old, Taylor Swift is considered to be the best kindergarten teacher in the entire North London school district and Joe Alwyn is the 29 year old owner and founder of the biggest accountancy firm in the UK but most importantly, he's Poppy's Dad.





	1. "It's nothing too complicated"

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter, neat, enjoy!

Taylor had been working non-stop during these last few weeks before the school Christmas break. There was so much to get done, the kids were rehearsing their Nativity play and Christmas Concert’s every other day now as well as making Christmas cards for parents and every possible relative they could think of. Taylor’s agonising day had been filled with twenty different five-year olds dressed as sheep walking around with glue sticks and cotton balls. The other teachers had no idea how she did it. Many times, they had called her a miracle worker. She always replied with a smile and a thank you. 

At twenty-four years old, Taylor was the youngest full-time teacher in the school and was considered to be the best kindergarten teacher in the entire district. Half of the time Taylor didn’t even know how she worked so well with the younger kids, her Mother always said she had a very loving and caring nature which probably helped but Taylor put a lot down to having her helpful teaching assistant Jess, she never would be able to work in that class without her.

“So, who is the meeting with tonight?” Jess asked as she stood at the sink washing thirty sticky paintbrushes. She was a young woman taking a year during college to study as well as work in the teaching field. She was assigned to work with Taylor at the beginning of the school year and luckily, they hit it off straight away, Jess hoped to be as good with her own class of kids one day as Taylor was.

“Um, Poppy’s Dad I think. He should be here anytime now.” It was just approaching 4:30pm, the kids had been let out of school just over an hour ago so clean up was almost complete. Taylor had the meeting with Poppy’s Dad and then she was going to stay and correct some of the work the kids had done. She loved going through their work, reading their little sentences, their adorable little mistakes. Those were always the highlight of her evenings.

“Her Dad? Never seen him before.” Thinking about it, Taylor didn’t think she’d ever seen him either, Poppy was always picked up and dropped by a young girl. She was definitely too young to be her Mother. Taylor assumed her to be a nanny, which within this area of London it was not surprising.

“Me either, wouldn’t even know he existed if Poppy didn’t talk about him.”

Joe jumped in his chauffeur driven car at exactly four thirty, he was late and he knew it. That was a regular thing, it normally didn’t matter too much, as long as he was home for Poppy’s bath and bedtime. Joe had had a rather big meeting with some of his clients it had been organised last week so everything would all fit but of course it all ran over. He thought he would be able to finish up his work meeting by four take the twenty-minute trip across London and be there early but alas that would no longer work, especially with rush hour creeping in. 

Joe was the owner of one of the biggest accountancy firms in the UK, he had founded his company whilst still in university. It started slowly but became hugely successful just after he graduated highest in his class with a first degree in accountancy. Then his world got thrown upside down when his girlfriend fell pregnant with Poppy, she had told him that she couldn’t keep her and she wasn’t ready. Although he knew ultimately it wasn’t his choice, he couldn’t stand the idea of aborting or giving away his baby, she was part of him. Something he had always wanted. Joe had pleaded with her on the phone one evening begging her not to get rid of the baby. After three hours, she had finally agreed as long as he looked after her, alone. 

Over the course of those next nine months Joe finally spent some of his money and moved out of his parents’ house to one just down the road still in North London. He had just finished building the castle for his princess before she then decided to make an entrance into the world three weeks early. Poppy spent a few days of her life in the ICU before coming home, those few days in the hospital were anything but easy for Joe. He would go to visit her in the mornings and the evenings, with his office a five-minute drive away he would sometimes go during his lunch break too. Finally, when Poppy did come home he worked three days a week in his home office. His Mum stayed at the house for a few weeks just to help with sorting a schedule, Joe was very grateful for that. His Mum was and has always been one of his best friends.

“Mr Alwyn” Joe’s chauffer looked back in the mirror, implying they had reached the destination.

“Thank you, Jack” Joe smiled back, he opened the car door and looked down at his watch. ‘Only twenty minutes late, well done, not like this is important or anything’ he thought to himself. He hated how this made him look, he’d never even met Poppy’s teacher, what a terrible first impression. He quickly ran to the gate and was buzzed in by the reception staff.

“Are you Mr Alwyn? You want Miss Swift’s classroom, it’s the yellow one with bumblebees on the door.” The receptionist knew who he was straight away, they must have been made aware he was coming. Joe walked along the brightly coloured corridors with paintings and displays all over the place. It suddenly occurred to him that he had only ever been inside this school once and that was during an open evening. A wave of guilt hit him, the reality that he was missing his daughter grow up had just begun to sink in when he spotted the bright yellow door. It was labelled in big purple letters ‘Miss Swift’.

Taylor was halfway through singing a song from the radio when she heard a knock at the already cracked open door.

“Hi, I’m Poppy’s Father” the blonde man grinned looking down at her sat at the desk.

“Oh, please come in, have a seat.” His appearance was very neat, his hair was exceptionally blonde much like his daughters, she clearly took after him genetically. He was dressed in a black suit with a navy-blue tie and black work shoes. 

“Sorry I’m late, I was held up at work.” Taylor momentarily wondered what he did, she could tell he was well off, clearly something in business. Possibly something with the stocks like her Father. She remembered her Dad getting home from work every day around 6pm just in time for a delicious dinner her Mother had made.

“It’s no problem, by the time I’ve cleaned up and checked the kids work I’m normally here until five thirty.” There was a slight pause for a moment before the blonde spoke again, “I’m Miss Swift by the way!” She smiled as her eyes quickly shifted to Jess who was tidying up the books in the corner of the room. She silently mouthed something to her but Taylor couldn’t make it out. Her eyes moved back to his piercing blue ones. They were a blue she had never seen before, like an ocean she could just fall into.

“Joe” he replied sitting down in the seat. He was thankful it was an adult chair, all the others in the classroom were two inches from the ground and no way could his over six-foot frame sit on one of those.

“Well Mr Alwyn I’ve been calling a few parents in just to discuss what will be happening over the next few months after Christmas. Basically, in the new year we will begin some more academic studies. Nothing to crazy or drastic of course, they are only five. From spending time with Poppy it’s easy to see she is exceptionally bright. This especially in reading and writing, her language skills are in fact very advanced for her age.”

“She loves to read, that’s our thing. If I’m not home in time for a bedtime story, I get in trouble!” he chucked and Taylor smiled. He noticed how pretty she was when she smiled, well she was pretty anyway but there was something about her happiness, it radiated, like sunshine.

“Let me show you something” she quickly got up from her chair and walked towards the other woman in the corner of the room. Joe took this time to admire her appearance. She wore a pink floral patterned sun dress, it matched her red lipstick. She was tall and had blonde wavy hair that fell half way down her back. She was very beautiful, Poppy had once described her as looking like a princess, she wasn’t wrong. He continued to stare at her until her voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Poppy wrote this today and I thought you might like to see it” Taylor passed Joe a piece of paper which read ‘I love my Daddy. I like it when we read together.’ Along with it was a crayon drawn picture of who he assumed was him reading with Poppy. He smiled looking down at the paper, his little girl was his everything, from day one. He hated that he couldn’t always be there but knowing she made things like this put him at ease. 

“She absolutely adores you. Raves about you. You know I get a lot of kids who talk about their Mum’s and even their pets but you’re the only Dad.” Taylor interrupted his thoughts. Being a full-time Dad and running his own business was extremely difficult and he knew how lucky he was to get the help he does. Abbie was his saviour, she was a family friend who became Poppy’s nanny when she started pre-school and Joe began working in the office again. Joe had known the nineteen-year-old since she herself was five so he trusted her completely with his angel. Abbie would tell Joe all the time how much Poppy talked about him. He was her Mum and Dad in one, something he would never change for the world.

“Now whilst she is unbelievably gifted in reading and writing, math is something she seems to struggle with. She’s not bad at it, it’s just we will be working a lot quicker and on some new things which might trip her up. It might be worth you or anyone at home just working with her a little to try to get her confidence up with working at a faster pace.” Joe couldn’t seem to concentrate when she spoke, he was enamoured by her. He found himself just staring at her porcelain skin and perfect facial structure.

“Of course, I’ll sit down with her on the weekends or her nanny can go through some things after school.” Joe was surprised she struggled in math, Poppy had never mentioned it, he clearly didn’t hand down his mathematic talent. 

“Great! It’s nothing too complicated and you really don’t need to worry. She just finds adding and subtracting double-digit numbers a little tricky.” Joe nodded leaning forward in his chair as Taylor pulled out a small booklet of equations. She handed it to him, their hands briefly touched before he placed it inside his suit jacket pocket.

The pair talked for a little longer until Taylor turned back to her desk and began looking through some paper, she was hoping it looked like she was looking for something but really she was stalling. She hated these parent and teacher meetings, she was an awkward person in general and most of her conversations were with five-year olds so talking to the parents wasn’t really her strong suit. For some reason, she felt intimidated by Joe. To say he was attractive would be an understatement and his suit really helped the fact.

“Um, I think that’s all I really have to say…” Taylor rambled turning back to face him.

“Oh, great! Thank you, did you need this or-” Joe passed Taylor back the drawing Poppy had made of him, their hands brushed one another again.

“Oh no no, that’s yours stick to the fridge, frame it, she would love that.” She refused the piece of paper and smiled at him. She couldn’t help it, for some reason she just wanted to smile at him.

“She would. I’ll do that, thank you!” Joe reached for her hand and gently shook it, he momentarily lost himself in her blue eyes but suddenly realised he had been holding her hand for much longer than would be considered normal and released his grip. In that one moment, he was completely and utterly memorized by her. He broke his stare and began walking to the door. “Thanks again, have a good night Miss Swift” he mumbled before closing the door behind him.

“Oh, my gosh he was so hot!” Jess excitedly whispered worried he could still hear from the corridor. But Taylor was so deep in her thoughts she could barely hear her. She had no idea what just happened. Never in her life had someone made her so nervous or awestruck, not even when she had to teach with the principal in the classroom. “And he was totally checking you out” Jess’ comment snapped Taylor out of her thoughts. 

“He was not” Taylor got up from her desk as she shook her head and laughed. She began to place her stuff back in her bag, trying to hide her bright red blushing cheeks. 

“Listen, when you got up, he practically undressed you with his eyes and you were definitely doing the same, don’t even try to deny it” Jess walked closer toward Taylor, looked her dead in the eyes and smiled when she saw Taylor was blushing profusely. Jess continued to taunt Taylor for the rest of the evening until they finally both left at about five forty-five.

Joe got back to his house around five forty, his meeting with Miss Swift had lasted just over half an hour. He didn’t have time to process anything before Poppy came running up to him and flung herself around his neck. This was a nightly thing, every evening when he came home from work she always jumped on him enjoying his piggyback rides. With Poppy still clinging to his back, he walked into the kitchen to find Abbie cleaning up plates from her and Poppy’s dinner. Joe thanked her and insisted she should go home and he would finish cleaning later.

“Did you have a good day monkey?” Joe said as he gently picked her up and carried her to the living room. Poppy nodded and began to tell him all about her day at school talking about her friends and how Abbie had gotten her ice cream that evening.

Poppy was the spitting image of her Father, she had long blonde hair with a slight curl which went all the way down to her waist and the most electric blue eyes. Her smile could light up a room and her laugh was Joe’s favourite sound. Although difficult at first, ever since she was born she brightened his world. She was so precious and innocent he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone ever hurting her. Abbie had helpfully already bathed and dressed Poppy in her Beauty and The Beast pyjamas so she was ready for bed, normally Joe would do that but because of the meeting at school he didn’t make it back in time.

Both Joe and Poppy were now sat huddled together on the couch as he began to tell Poppy about his meeting with Miss Swift.

“I met your teacher today she-” Joe began but was interrupted by a shriek of happiness.

“Miss Swift? Isn’t she like a princess?” Poppy’s eyes sparkled with excitement, she really was absolutely enchanted by the woman. 

“Yes, she is but she said you are having trouble with some math. So, she gave me this and said you and I can do these together at the weekend!” Joe pulled out the booklet of simple math equations from his inside jacket pocket to show the five-year-old.

“Ugh math is hard” the little girl briefly flicked through the booklet rolling her eyes.

“I know but I will help you and trust me it’ll be lots of fun. Now let’s read a story and get you to bed so you’re not tired tomorrow!” Poppy whined in response, throwing her dead-weight self into her Dad’s lap with her arms and legs flailed in all different directions. Joe laughed at his daughter as he awkwardly picked her up and carried her to her room. He opened the bright pink door with his foot and placed her down gently in her queen-sized bed. Poppy quickly snuggled down with her stuffed toy bunny.

“Can we have the princess book?” Joe nodded of course, and pulled the book from the rather large pink bookcase in the corner. He laid down next to his little girl wrapping his arm around her small frame and holding the book in front of them both. Poppy and Joe both took turns each reading a few pages. It was the story of a princess who did not want to be a princess, she didn’t like dresses or crowns or acting like a lady. Poppy thought it was so funny, it was one of her favourites and they read it at least once a week.

After they finished the book Joe lay there for a while with Poppy in his arms stroking her hair. This was his favourite moment of the day. He got to be with the person he loved most, he loved watching her. She made the cutest little faces, he saw so much of himself within her. His Mum told him all the time how much she was like him when he was younger. It was safe to say, he never imagined his life to be like this but now he wouldn’t have it any other way. The only thing being that from now on he would try to spend more time with her during the week, he could see it even more now she was in school, she was growing up so fast, too fast and he couldn’t stand it.

“Night angel” Joe placed a short kiss on Poppy’s forehead and made his way out, he made sure to turn her nightlight on before closing the door behind him.

Joe walked back downstairs towards the kitchen gearing up to clean the dinner plates and cutlery which Abbie had left in the sink. He had just turned the water on when his phone began to ring. He pulled it from his pocket and saw it was his Mother. He quickly shut the water off and answered it.

“Hi Mum” he leant backwards on the kitchen counter running his free hand through his blonde hair.

“Hi Honey, how was your meeting with Poppy’s teacher?” the cheerful woman asked.

“Oh that, it was great” he smiled to himself as Miss Swift’s face briefly popped into his head as he continued speaking, “Her teacher just gave me some extra math problems, she said Poppy has been struggling a little but it’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s good, you’ll be able to go through those with her or even Abbie might be able to help her. Now, are you coming to the Christmas Concert tomorrow? I know you hadn’t quite made up your mind, you weren’t sure how much work you would have.” The Christmas Concert was a small production the school held each year, they had all the kids singing Christmas carols whilst completely messing up every rehearsed hand action. It was sweet, Joe had never attended but his Mum and Dad went to watch last year when Poppy participated with the pre-school. 

“I forgot about that” Joe paused for a moment. “But yeah, I’ll come, I’ll surprise Pop!” It saddened him that Poppy assumed now that he wouldn’t be able to attend things at school but it meant when he did show up, it became even more special.

“She’ll love that! I’ll make sure to save you a seat. Now, how are you?” His Mother seemed concerned, she knew he worked so hard and he was a great Father but he isolated himself. He seemed to find it difficult to go out with friends because he had Poppy to look after whereas a lot of other guys his age or men he worked with had no responsibilities. A fair few of them had girlfriends and fiancé’s but no kids.

“I’m good, just a lot going on at work, I was late for the meeting at the school today, I felt awful, she said it was fine but you know I hate being late.” Joe huffed feeling a little defeated.

“I do, Poppy’s teacher is very lovely though. I’m sure she didn’t mind.” 

Joe and his Mother spoke for another half an hour before deciding they both needed to go to bed. They wrapped up the conversation and said a quick goodbye, Joe thanked her for reminding him about the concert and said he would see her tomorrow.

He slid his phone into his back pocket and yawned. Joe had gotten up at around five thirty that morning to get ready for the day. He was used to that by now, but it was getting Poppy up which is always the hardest. Poppy was definitely not a morning person, neither was Joe to be fair but she had to be practically dragged out of bed, it was one of the many traits she seemed to have picked up from him.

Joe walked slowly into the living room and sat down on the large L-shaped couch. He grabbed the TV remote and switched Poppy’s children’s channels to Netflix. He decided to watch a new show he had read about in the newspaper whilst in the car on the way to work that morning. It wasn’t something he was hugely interested in but he wanted something new to binge watch. Joe’s evenings were quite lonely after Poppy had gone to bed, his Mum would call but it wasn’t the same as having someone to share a bottle of wine and watch TV with. Joe ended up watching one episode of the show before falling asleep half way through the second one, his heavy eyes finally giving into the sleep after the busy day.


	2. "Oh wow! Now that's unfortunate"

“Let’s go, let’s go guys!” Elizabeth could hear her husband Richard and their only granddaughter giggling away across the hall in the living room. They had picked Poppy up from school so they could help her get ready for the Christmas Concert. She was dressed in a white sweater with red dungarees and candy cane patterned tights. Her long blonde hair had been put into two pig tails and a small bow was placed on her head.

Christmas was the Alwyn’s favourite holiday so going all out was not an option, it was a necessity. The Christmas tree along with outdoor lights and a singing Santa had been up in Elizabeth and Richard’s house since late November. Elizabeth had begun buying presents for their children and relatives in September and she was so happy everyone was finally getting into the Christmas spirit.

“Nana, is it time to go?”

Elizabeth nodded at the five-year-old holding out her red Matilda Jane’s. Poppy quickly placed them on the floor, slipping her feet into them and doing up the buckle. She let out an excited little squeal before following her grandparents out the front door.

By the time, Richard had driven to and parked at the school Poppy had peacefully fallen asleep in the back seat of the car. Elizabeth brushed her granddaughter’s hair from her face and gently tried to wake her. Poppy stirred a little before letting out a whine about wanting her Dad.

“It’s Nannie, Pop” Elizabeth picked her up, holding her head in the crook of her neck trying to shield her as best she could from the rain that had decided to start falling. She could feel Poppy beginning to cry feeling disoriented and wanting her Father.

“I want Daddy” she mumbled into her Nana’s shoulder. Elizabeth held her tightly trying to open the door to school building before Richard managed to catch up and help her. They walked down the hallway towards Poppy’s classroom. Elizabeth could tell Poppy would not want to let go. Missing her Father was something Poppy really struggled with, they had such a close bond and now Joe had been working more often it has been difficult to adjust. Of course, she loved spending time with her grandparents and Abbie but nothing was stronger than her and Joe’s bond. She was completely and utterly a Daddy’s girl.

The three of them were the first to reach the bright yellow and bumblebee painted door with Poppy still softly sobbing into Elizabeth’s coat. She began to place the little girl softly on her feet but Poppy started to cry even harder, stomping and throwing her arms around in frustration. Elizabeth wasn’t used to seeing this side of Poppy, she was normally very well behaved however clearly she was tired and ready for the end of the school term.

“Hey Poppy, do you want to come in with me?” Miss Swift appeared from the hallway behind Elizabeth, “You’re the first one here!” she continued. Poppy nodded shyly with a sniff trying to get rid of her tears. Elizabeth pat her head gently before waving goodbye and walking towards the performance hall.

“You know, being the first one here is super awesome” Taylor walked towards her desk “it means you get to pick the best colouring page and find all the good pencils!” She continued enthusiastically trying to make Poppy feel better. The little girl smiled slightly before her face fell back to a frown.

“Come here” Taylor pat her lap motioning for Poppy to come sit with her. She knew this wasn’t the most professional thing to do but her heart couldn’t help but ache for the sweet little girl. As a child Taylor herself had a workaholic Father, he was still very present but just once she wished he could’ve come to her plays or piano recitals. She picked Poppy up placing her in her lap, Taylor pulled out the colouring pens from her bag and they both started to colour in the Santa.

“What are you going to ask Santa for this year Poppy?” The teacher asked.

“I think I just want a new Barbie doll and maybe a new soccer ball, I think Daddy will like playing with me. And I need some new nail paint so I can paint Daddy’s nails when he is asleep” Poppy giggled to herself and Taylor smiled at the thought. She was hoping to get Poppy’s mind off her Father but clearly he was her everything.

“What do you want Santa to bring you Miss Swift?” The little girl stopped colouring.

“I haven’t asked Santa for anything yet this year, I am just very excited I get to go and see my family” Poppy looked confused. “My family live far away in a different country, I don’t get to see my Mummy and Daddy very often.”

“I don’t have- DADDY!!” The little girl couldn’t finish before she burst with excitement. She jumped off the teachers lap and ran into her Dad’s arms.

Joe had been so excited all day, he couldn’t wait to see the look of surprise on his little girls face when he turned up to the concert. He hated not being with her, but his job meant he could give Poppy the best possible life and that was something he always wanted. He had managed to pry himself away from his desk before five o’clock which was very impressive and then have his driver race across London so he could be at the school by six. Turned out he was actually early for one of the first times in his life but his Mum had told him Poppy was incredibly upset so he had decided to come and surprise her in the classroom.

“Hey Pop!” Joe picked the little girl up and twirled her around slightly. She threw her head back giggling.

“I didn’t know you were coming Daddy!”

“I thought it would be a surprise. Is it a good one?” He kissed his daughters head gently.

“Yes!” The little girl squealed squeezing her Dad’s cheeks in excitement. “Of course!” She continued pushing his cheeks together before giving him a quick kiss back.

“Look, Miss Swift and I were colouring.” She pointed in the teachers direction. “I thought Santa would be cold so I made him blue.” Joe let the little girl carefully to the floor, and she tugged his hand towards the desk showing him her colouring before sitting back on her teachers lap.

Taylor looked up almost immediately when she realised Joe was walking towards her. He was wearing a suit again. It was slightly different to the one worn the previous evening, and this time he wore a Christmas themed tie.

“Hey, Taylor right?” She hadn’t realised she’d been staring for so long until he held out his hand to shake hers.

“Taylor? Who’s Taylor?” She heard Poppy say which made her chuckle a little before answering.

“Yes, it’s Taylor. Joe?” Taylor of course remembered his name, how could she forget. Not only was he one of the most attractive people she’d ever seen, she also was a teacher so was trained from day one to remember names and faces. That helped a lot.

“Yes” he nodded.

“Cool”

“Cool” Joe almost whispered back.

They were surrounded by an awkward silence until another child came bursting through the door. Both adults whipped their heads around, Joe quickly grabbing the door before it smashed against the wall.

“Olivia!” Poppy yelled startling Taylor a little.

“I guess that’s my cue” Joe laughed.

“Yeah, well, hope you enjoy the show” she waved as he walked back through the door and down to the performance hall.

-

“We want to welcome our littlest and last performers from Miss Swift’s class to the stage” the announcer took to the stage to introduce the kids. The group of twenty-four and five-year olds following behind getting into their correct positions. Taylor helping place them and handing them their props that had been made for the special day.

Joe’s eyes kept flicking between his daughter and Taylor, she was wearing red pants with a red and white striped blouse. Very candy cane. She looked absolutely beautiful though, in-fact she looked more than beautiful. Joe decided in that moment he definitely needed to ask her to dinner. He knew it may be inappropriate, although he wasn’t sure, he just knew he had to ask, to try.

He felt bad for staring but just couldn’t quite take his eyes off her and she could feel it, his piercing eyes on her as she couldn’t help but turn to smile.

“She’s very lovely” his Mother interrupted his train of thoughts. “Ask her, I think she would say yes” Elizabeth continued.

Joe stared back, bewildered. Only his Mother could know exactly what he was thinking. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the stage.

As he turned back he saw Taylor had made her way to the corner of the room and was sat at the piano. The announcer counted them in and she began to play the intro to ‘When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney’. Poppy stood front and centre on the stage, belting her heart out. Her eyes connected with Joe’s and suddenly she couldn’t stop herself from waving, she was absolutely beaming with excitement. He couldn’t be more proud, although she was growing too fast he loved her ‘big girl’ personality.

The kids sang three other songs, all accompanied by Taylor on the piano. The best had to be ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, it included twenty young children all trying to remember hand actions to go along with the beat and completely failing. It was so sweet yet so hilarious, the parents couldn’t help but laugh to themselves.

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, did you like it? Did I do good?” Poppy ran from the stage and leapt into her Father’s arms. He pulled her tightly, kissing the top of her head multiple times.

“Of course you did pumpkin, you sounded like an angel!” Joe held her in his arms and placed a big kiss on her cheek. He’d never made it to one of these concerts or shows even the ones from preschool, but seeing how happy it made her, he decided her would really try to make it to everything.

“Miss Sw-Taylor!” The little girl smiled at the blonde tried to walk past.

“Hello Miss Poppy, you did awesome” Taylor high-fived the little girl who was still being held in her Father’s arms.

“Hey…” Joe butted in before quickly racking his brain to fill the awkward silence he had caused. “So I never actually thanked you, for earlier, for cheering her up, so I just wanted to say thank you.” Joe paused for a moment “And I really want to repay you so Poppy and I are going for a treat to the bakery. If you don’t have anything else planned we would love it if you could join us.”

“Oh um, ok.” Taylor paused “that’ll be nice, thank you!” she smiled at him ”I will be a little while though. I need to help clean up and grab my things.”

“We can help” Joe said placing Poppy to the ground before waving goodbye to his parents and beginning to fold up the chairs.

Poppy sat quietly on the edge of the stage whilst the adults cleaned up. The two of them along with a few other members of staff had to stack the one hundred or so chairs, place the kids benches back along the wall and deal with all the props that had been used during show. These including confetti and glitter which just so happen to be two of the worst things to clean up.

“I think using glitter is the biggest mistake I’ve ever had” Taylor chuckled to herself. When working with five-year olds, everything is a possibility for disaster.

“I have to say, I can’t disagree” Joe said grabbing the broom to sweep the floor, ”it’s fun at the time but the clean-up is hellish” he continued ”kids will be finding this stuff on the floor for weeks.”

_“Daddy! Look at my Valentines cards I made with Nana!” A three-year old Poppy squealed with excitement, running into her Father’s office. He was in the middle of an email as she jumped into his lap grinning from ear to ear._

_ “Oh it’s beautiful love, and that glitter” Joe paused looking up at his Mother who was stood at the door frame ”will definitely not be stuck to every surface of the house for the next four years!” _

_“Will you be my Valentine Daddy?” The little girl turned to look at him, her big blue eyes staring straight at his._

_“Of course silly! I will always be your Valentine”_

“So what would you two ladies like to eat?” Joe grinned as he held open the door for Taylor after the ten minute car ride across town.

The little North London bakery had been Joe’s favourite since he was a child. His Grandmother used to bring him and his brothers there. The owners were like family to him and now Poppy too. It’s the pairs favourite weekend spot for hot chocolate and treats. They had gorgeous cakes and great coffee’s, the interior was old school yet chic. They used fancy cups and saucers with stunning intricate designs.

“I’m not a lady, I’m a Poppy” the little girl said seriously whilst Joe lifted her down from his shoulders.

After a few minutes of decision-making, the trio ended up with one giant chocolate chip cookie for Poppy, a blueberry muffin for Taylor and a chocolate muffin for Joe. They found a table by the window and began chatting whilst watching the evening rush of cars go past. Their comfortable silence occasionally broken by Poppy mumbling about how good her cookie was.

“So Miss Taylor” Joe grinned making fun of what his daughter had said earlier. “How did you come to be the best Kindergarten teacher in London?” She chuckled in response. “Seriously, this kid doesn’t shut up about you!” He pointed at Poppy who was sat next to him very focused on her giant cookie.

“Well, I grew up on a farm in upstate New York actually. My Father worked on Wall Street so I never really spent that much time with him other than dinner and an hour or so before bed. My Mother looked after my brother and I along with all our animals. My Mother always says I had a caring nature even with the animals, but I began tutoring elementary and middle school kids when I was in high school and really loved it. Then whilst I was studying for my degree in teaching I got the opportunity of a transfer to London and I took it. It was great because I got to get away from everyone and everything I knew and just be a new person almost. With some help from savings and the teaching job, my friend and I now rent a little place in Ealing so I just jump on the tube every day at 7am and then ride it back again in the evening.” Taylor paused and took a bite of her muffin. “What about you Mr Joseph? What do you do that makes you fancy enough to have your own chauffeur?”

By the time Joe had finished telling her all about his company and how Poppy came to be (very delicately due to her presence at the table), all three of them had finished their treats and Poppy was half asleep in her chair. Tired from the busy day at school and the performance.

“I think your little miss is falling asleep” Taylor laughed and pointed towards the little girl whose eyes were desperately trying to stay open fighting the sleep. “And I need to get home because I teach piano at the school on Saturday mornings!”

“Oh” Joe didn’t really want her to leave, but her couldn’t think of a reason for her to stay any longer. “We’ll drive you back” he gestured towards the door.

“No it’s ok, you get her to bed” Taylor began to shove her things in her bag that was also filled with sheet music from the performance, packets of glitter from the props and various other Christmas themed items.

“I wouldn’t want anything to hap-”

“Joe I get the underground home every night, I will be fine” she knew he was just trying to be nice and he was very sweet but this entire situation was slightly inappropriate. She didn’t know what she was thinking earlier. She was pretty sure as a teacher she was not supposed to spend time with her students Father’s outside of school.

“Do you know, you getting the tube home is actually really handy for me?”

“Oh really?” Taylor raised her eyebrows.

“It just means that I get to ask for your phone number so I can check that you get home safely.” There was a sudden wave of confidence and Joe had no idea what he was saying, but the words were just coming out of his mouth.

“And what if I say no?” She was intrigued by him, the last two minutes of conversation had completely switched his personality. He was being cheeky and she couldn’t help but throw it right back at him.

“Then that would suck because I can’t think of another way to get your number and I definitely need it for when I want to ask you to dinner next week.”

“Oh wow! Now that’s unfortunate” she poked her tongue out at him playfully. “Anyway Joseph I have to get going, I don’t want to wake up late tomor-“ she got up from their table and walked towards the door.

“Wait what about-“

“I’ll see you later Joe” She quickly walked out the door knowing that if she didn’t, she would cave. He was very sweet and he wasn’t bad to look at either but he was her students Father. The whole tube ride back to Ealing had her heart and brain fighting, her mind was swirling, her heart said yes but her brain just kept telling her how ridiculous it was.

When she walked in the door, her roommate Lucy was sat on the sofa in her pyjamas watching the latest episode of a show they’d been bingeing together on Netflix.

“I started watching it without you because you took too long, where the fuck have you been?” She yelled into the kitchen where Taylor was putting down her stuff on the counter.

Their place was only small, a little squishy for the two of them but they made it work. Ironically neither of them actually spent much time in the flat apart from in the evenings, and Taylor more so on the weekends. Lucy was a teacher too, she was a few years older than Taylor and taught in the local primary school a five-minute walk away.  It was crazy to Taylor how different the mainstream and prep schools were, they would often compare their schedules and Taylor felt like she was constantly at that school doing something or other. She wouldn’t change it for the world though. Her job was her favourite thing.

“What took you so long?” Lucy said walking into the kitchen to put the empty bowl from her popcorn in the sink.

“You know the really cute Dad I was telling you about who I’d never seen before until yesterday?” the friend nodded “well his daughter was upset and I was looking after her and after the performance he asked if I wanted to go get a cake with them after as a thank you. And I said ok-“ Lucy squealed with excitement. “So we went out and we were talking and he was very sweet and then I realised that I was being so stupid because Lucy this is my students Father! So when he asked me for my number I had to say no-“

“You said no? Are you crazy? You didn’t shut up about this guy yesterday!”

“I know, I know but you’re telling me that you don’t think it’s inappropriate?” She questioned.

“Oh it is weird but I don’t know the rules at your ‘kids with trust funds’ school.” Taylor laughed, “besides you’ll only be the kids teacher for one year, it’s not like she’s going to stay in Kindergarten forever. There’s only six months of it left now!” Lucy grinned poking her in the shoulder.

“You’re no help whatsoever” Taylor huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Well you’re welcome anyway” she grinned cheekily. “I’m going to bed and you should too because you have to be back at that school at an ungodly hour for a Saturday morning.” The brunette walked up the stairs leaving Taylor alone with her thoughts. Part of her now wished she had have given him her number, maybe they’d be texting right now rather than her just thinking about texting him.


End file.
